Venezia Holds Napoli To A Goalless Draw In Serie A Title Race Standoff

In a goalless draw at Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo, Venezia held Napoli, who were aiming for the top spot in Serie A. Napoli needed a win to surpass Inter before their match against Atalanta. However, Antonio Conte's side only managed a point, allowing Inter the chance to extend their lead and Atalanta to potentially catch up with the Azzurri.

Napoli's Giacomo Raspadori hit the post early on, while Venezia's Daniel Fila shot directly at Alex Meret from a promising position. As the first half progressed, Napoli began to dominate, forcing Ionut Radu into action against attempts from Raspadori, Romelu Lukaku, and Scott McTominay. Despite this pressure, Venezia nearly scored before halftime when Amir Rrahmani blocked Fila's low shot.

In the second half, Napoli intensified their efforts with Matteo Politano testing Radu twice. Yet, Venezia almost clinched victory in stoppage time when Nicolussi Caviglia's powerful shot was saved by Meret. This result leaves Venezia in 19th place with 20 points, five points away from safety. They have not won since defeating Cagliari 2-1 in December.

Antonio Conte has accumulated eight points over his last seven league matches. According to OptaPaolo on Twitter: "8 - Antonio Conte has earned eight points in his last seven league games; in #SerieA, in a series of seven games in a single season, it is his worst result since 2010 with Atalanta (four in that case). Difficulty."

Napoli have drawn five of their last seven league matches after previously winning seven consecutively. Their sole victory during this period was against Fiorentina. Conte hopes for better results following the international break. Meanwhile, Venezia have drawn four consecutive Serie A matches for the first time since March-April 1962 but need wins to escape relegation threats.

Venezia and Empoli are yet to secure a Serie A win in 2025. Overall, Venezia have gone 12 games without victory (seven draws and five losses). Goalkeeper Radu was crucial for them against Napoli by making seven saves as Napoli created chances worth 1.54 expected goals compared to Venezia’s 0.73.